SECRETS OF ST KILDA AND SUTHERLAND

Oban to Oban

Tuesday 21st to Tuesday 28th May 2024

7 nights including 2 Gala Dinners

This cruise of contrasts is a voyage to remember. Discover the heritage of the Outer Isles of Barra and Lewis, the rugged and remote Sutherland coast, and the far-flung archipelago of St Kilda, a Double UNESCO World Heritage Site which was occupied by man for 5,000 years until 1930.

The most southerly of the inhabited Outer Isles, beautiful Vatersay, offers dramatic beaches, spectacular wildlife and a history dating from the Bronze Age.

Few sights can compare with the bird cliffs of Boreray and Stac Lee emerging hazily from the horizon to the echoing cries of seabirds as we approach Hirta, the jewel in St Kilda’s crown. As the cleits and grazing Soay sheep come into view, we go ashore to explore the abandoned village and imagine what life must have been like in this remote wilderness.

Cruising past the mysterious Flannan Isles, we arrive in Stornoway to sense the mystery of the awe-inspring Megalithic Callanish Standing Stones, older than the Egyptian pyramids, and the wellpreserved, 2,000 year old Carloway Broch. Inverewe Garden is a paradise of 2,500 exotic subtropical species overlooking Loch Ewe, the life’s work of Osgood MacKenzie.

From Ullapool, marvel at the deep Corrieshalloch Gorge and plunging Falls of Measach as they cascade through a wilderness rich in flora and fauna. Relax on board as we sail the spectacular coast of Wester Ross to Plockton where the artist’s garden at Attadale House affords views over to Skye.

By scenic Loch Duich, the enchanting MacKenzie stronghold of Eilean Donan Castle is powerfully poised on an islet where three great sea lochs meet. Built in the mid-13th century to guard Kintail, the castle lay in ruins for 200 years and was restored by Colonel John MacRae-Gilstrap.

We reflect on our adventures as we sail Kyle Rhea and the Sound of Sleat, bound for Oban.

FLANNAN ISLES

LEWIS

Stornoway

Callanish Stones Carloway

Ullapool Corrieshalloch Gorge

Plockton Attadale Gardens

Sea of the Hebrides

T ravel Plan – 7 nights

Tuesday 21st May

Oban - Embarkation.

Wednesday 22nd May

Cruise the Sea of the Hebrides. Castlebay, Barra - Walks on Vatersay.

Thursday 23rd May

St Kilda - Village Bay, Hirta. Cruise past the Flannan Isles to Stornoway.

Friday 24th May

Stornoway, Lewis - Callanish Stones and Carloway Broch. Cruise the Minch.

Saturday 25th May

Loch Ewe - Inverewe Garden. Ullapool - Corrieshalloch Gorge.

Sunday 26th May

Cruise the coast of Wester Ross. Plockton - Attadale Gardens.

Monday 27th May

Kyle of Lochalsh - Eilean Donan Castle. Cruise Kyle Rhea and the Sound of Sleat.

Tuesday 28th May Oban - Disembarkation.

Hebridean Highlights

• Walks on Vatersay

• St Kilda – Double UNESCO World Heritage Site

• Callanish Stones and Carloway Broch

• Inverewe Garden

• Eilean Donan Castle